If We Go Beyond What We Had
by FayTheBundle
Summary: Haruka lived just two streets away from Nishinoya, so it was no surprise the loud and energetic libero was one of her first acquaintances upon her first year at Karasuno. And yes, she intended to keep it that way. A story of making amends with yourself and letting light in. [Nishinoya x OC]
1. Chapter 1: Initiations

**A/N: **New Nishinoya fic, because there are way, way too few.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Haikyuu, only original characters.

**Chapter 1: Initiations**

_Summer. It was one of those days when not a single cloud was in the sky and the sunlight was harsh and blinding. Gray cement buildings making up the town center had trapped the afternoon heat between them to simmer until heartbeats raised and started pounding in the ears. There were no cicadas, but the cacophony was deafening. People reluctantly went about their days and Haruka barely registered the noise they made in contrast to her pulse, the only indicator that time was passing then, for her mind had drawn a complete blank before the words that grew thunderous and short-circuited everything else._

_He has black hair that falls into his eyes and a wry smile that curves up one way when he is amused. He had let go of her hand in front of a door and they had stood there, a feet apart. She wasn't in her uniform, it being summer break, and she was sweating through the back of her T-shirt while her arms hung awkwardly at her sides._

_The news had said that day was the hottest one yet of the year. It was quickly outdone by another day in August when she was indoors, the air conditioner on full blast in her room. She had gotten a cold afterwards. The shivers that shook her body were all too relatable to that one hot day on the street, between a game center and an ice cream shop, when it was 36 degrees and she felt so, so cold. _

_He had been walking in front before they stopped. He turned to her with a look in his eyes she would keep thinking back to for months and said, as if it were a joke, "Haruka, you're no fun."_

-.-.-.-

Moving to a new neighborhood was refreshing. It was still in Miyagi so it wasn't that different, but Haruka could see the area becoming like a bubble for her with school being so near. Karasuno High School was just up the hill, a few roads away from where she lived. Everything in the house was already settled. Her new uniform—white blouse, red ribbon, cream sweater, black blazer, and a grey skirt—hung on the wall of her room.

She ran through a list of to-dos in her head:

_Iron uniform, check._

_Get stationery, check._

_Feed Nemo, check._

_Pack school bag, check._

There was still time before the sun set, and with nothing else to do, Haruka decided to go for a run. She quickly changed into track pants and a hoodie and tied up her brown hair.

"Don't get lost!" Her mom hollered from the kitchen. A pot was already bubbling on the stove.

_Stew_, thought Haruka, sniffing the air. The aroma lifted her spirits a little. "I won't! I'll be back before dinner," Haruka promised, stepping out into the cool April air.

She was in track in middle school and intended to continue at Karasuno. Taking a jog would help her get acquainted with the area, she supposed. The road was sloped as it curved around residences, shops, and the neighborhood parks. Huffing slightly, Haruka fell into a rhythm. She appreciated the quiet that came with the hour when people were either already out or enjoying time in.

Focusing on her breathing and her footsteps, Haruka kept her pace constant, her legs pumping like a metronome, going past the neighborhood and noting the locations of shops and restaurants, the post office and the clinic. A few sparse cherry blossom trees were planted by the streets, scattering pink petals on the ground whenever the wind blew.

_It's a nice place to live_. _Better than Wakano—_

"Again!"

A loud cry from the park beside the road broke the silence and shook Haruka out of her thoughts. She heard the sound of a ball being hit, and from between the trees she saw a net stretched between two poles.

It was a group of middle-aged women, probably a neighborhood volleyball association, except for a small boy with spiky hair among them, wearing a white shirt printed with a ridiculously large _yojijukugo_: 一騎当千 (One-Man Army)*.

_An elementary school kid? _Haruka wondered.

"Ba-san, another spike please!"

"Don't call me 'Ba-san'!"

The woman did a run-up approach and jumped as her teammate tossed her the ball. She seemed to have hit it with considerable force, but the ball was blocked by two other women across the net. Just as Haruka felt the ball was about to drop, the small boy dove to the front of the court and brought the ball back up in the air.

"Nice follow, Nishinoya-kun!"

"Yosh!" The kid—Nishinoya—yelled. His teammate hit the ball again and made it through the blockers this time, the ball making impact on the other side before the opposing team could reach it.

Blinking, Haruka realized she had slowed down to watch the rally and picked up her pace again.

Just as she was about to go around the corner, the boy stood up to reposition himself and, noticing her movement, glanced at her.

Their brown eyes met for a brief second before they focused on their practice once more, each to their own.

_-.-.-.-_

_Initiations are the worst._ Haruka had been looking forward to high school (she couldn't deny it, high school seemed way cooler than middle school), but she dreaded the first day. She was in Class 1-5 and had just gotten her seat, one right next to the window but in the very first row.

Now she was supposed to mingle. Haruka looked around. The students were already forming groups with a clear separation between boys and girls, no doubt figuring out who they would lunch and hang out with. It wasn't like Karasuno had a sister middle school, so everyone had to start fresh and would be keen to socialize.

"Did you see the vice-principal's hair at the ceremony? It's definitely a toupée!"

"Yes, yes! Everyone was talking about it! It's so obvious, isn't it?"

Sighing, Haruka waited for the bell to ring for the second period. She planned to hand in her application form at lunch. She had already approached the track club counter for the document and knew she was to submit it to the captain, Fukuoka Yuka from Class 3-4. Running a club, and most likely being a regular, on top of college preparatory class couldn't be easy.

Haruka took a pen and the sheet of paper from her drawer and started filling in her details:

_小林遥__. Class 1-5. Age 16._

Around her, students were still talking to one another. When she got to the last question, she paused.

_Why do you want to join the club?_

Tilting her pen back, Haruka thought for a moment and wrote:

_Because I have always been in track. _

At lunch, Haruka left her classroom once she finished her bento. She hadn't sat with anyone to eat, so it was rather oppressing to see some of her classmates moving tables and chairs to form archipelagos, laughing and bantering over their food and what their middle schools were like.

_Not that I care_, Haruka thought. And not that she was the only one either—there were also a few students who kept to themselves on the first day, likely because they were fed up with all the socializing or felt intimidated by it.

With her form in hand, Haruka made her way to the third-years' floor. Karasuno had a rather simple arrangement. The school building had first-years and the cafeteria on the bottom floors, the second-years in the middle, and third-years at the top. She walked up the stairway, scanning her form one last time.

Haruka could hear him even before she turned the corner. He was very loud, and he was laughing with a friend who was also very loud. What she didn't expect was for the pair to rush to the stairs so brashly they practically ran into her head-on.

"Whoa!" The guy with the buzz cut sidestepped to avoid her just in time. In her surprise Haruka had dropped her application form, but the shorter of the two nipped the paper in mid-air before it drifted to the ground.

"Sorry! We went too quickly," the buzz cut guy said, one hand up in apology.

"No, it's fine," Haruka said. _Running in the hallways—what are you, children?_

She just wanted her form back. She looked over at the shorter of the two.

"Ah—"

Spiky hair and curious brown eyes. He had his gakuran buttoned up all the way. The elementary school kid who played volleyball.

_No way, he's an upperclassman? _Actually, now that they were closer, he—Nishinoya—was about her height, maybe slightly taller, but still. With his bleached tuft and swept-up hair, he looked like a delinquent.

_A five foot three delinquent_, Haruka deadpanned, vaguely amused.

"Here." Nishinoya handed her the form.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Haruka wasn't expecting him to be so curt, what with his boisterous attitude earlier. Nishinoya nodded and the pair continued heading down, probably to the cafeteria.

It took all but two seconds for the boys to get rowdy again, guffawing about something they saw online yesterday. Haruka could still hear them as she went up. She sighed. _Too loud._

-.-.-.-

Track practice wouldn't start until next week, so Haruka decided to schedule her runs after school for the time being. There wasn't much in terms of school work just yet, but it had been slightly stressful, like all first days, and she was looking forward to sweating it all out. That was the reason she started long-distance running. It's a very meditative process—you go over a certain distance from point A to point B, you pace yourself, and steadily improve your time. Haruka enjoys the systematic approach to it, the process of conditioning your body and putting it under your control. Even in a team, ultimately it is your individual time that matters.

Having tried out some of the roads yesterday, Haruka decided to go through another route to figure out her options. This time she went the other way, circling around the neighborhood before heading back home.

Halfway through, she realized she would go past the park where Nishinoya played volleyball no matter which route it was.

_Not that I care either way_, Haruka thought, jogging in place while she waited for a light to turn green.

It took Haruka about half an hour to reach the park. By the time she was there, the clearing was empty. There wasn't even a volleyball net in place. Only a few children were there, clinging to monkey bars and the swings while their fretful mothers hovered around.

Haruka looked at the clearing for a moment longer, shrugged, and continued on with her path.

-.-.-.-

By the third day of school, Haruka was pretty certain Nishinoya and her lived very close by, if bumping into each other in the mornings was any indication. The day before, Haruka had seen Nishinoya first and avoided him at all costs, preferring to savor her relaxing walk to school, so she trailed behind him and his obnoxious hot pink messenger bag.

Actually, Haruka was surprised they would run into each other in the first place. She'd planned to arrive to school half an hour early to settle down and leaf through the new textbooks before her teachers picked up the pace with their lessons. She'd taken Nishinoya to be the kind of guy to sleep in and rush to school at the very last possible second, but he was apparently a morning person. Maybe he was the type to hang out with friends before homeroom.

Today, Haruka had no such luxury of avoiding him. Nishinoya and her bumped into each other right at the junction, so she had no choice but to voice a greeting.

"Good morning."

"G'morning."

A silent walk ensued. It was so awkward it made Haruka want to tear her hair out. She didn't have an excuse to go ahead either.

Nishinoya was obviously flamboyant and had no problem conversing with people—as far as she could tell with he and his Buddha friend—so it was unnerving to have him so quiet in front of her. Maybe he was just bad at talking to girls. Snorting slightly in indignance, Haruka resorted to initiating contact for once.

"Ni...Senpai, what is your name?"

Ugh. She wasn't supposed to know his name, it would just come off as creepy and stalker-ish. He might not even remember their first encounter at the park.

Nishinoya froze. For a second Haruka was worried he'd picked up on her change of phrase, but when she turned to look at him, his chest was puffed out and he was _blushing_.

"Uh…"

Nishinoya straightened up and brushed his nose with his thumb. He looked seriously flattered.

"T-that's right, I'm your senpai after all! I'm Nishinoya Yuu, second-year! I haven't seen you around—you're a first-year, aren't you? What's your name?"

"...Koyabashi Haruka. I'm in Class 1-5."

"Whoa, you're in advanced class? I'm in Class 2-3. You do sports, right? I'm a libero," Nishinoya grinned.

_He speaks like a hurricane. Libero? Probably a volleyball position? _

Haruka gave pause. "How do you know I do sports?"

Nishinoya cocked his head. "You were running by the park a few days ago, no? You have good form and your pace is quick, so I thought you're in track or football or something."

So he did recognize her. And she couldn't kick a ball to save her life. "I'm in track," Haruka explained. "I do long-distance running." Looking away, she couldn't deny feeling slightly flustered and happy about her running posture being complimented.

"So...what's a libero?"

"The star player in volleyball!" Nishinoya huffed, his hands on his waist. "The libero prevents the ball from dropping on his side of the court. As long as the ball is up in the air, it means your team hasn't lost!"

"I guess you're in the volleyball club."

Nishinoya frowned. "I am." His eyes clouded over with a frustration manifesting so quickly it took Haruka by surprise. She seemed to have struck a nerve.

"I am, but I'm suspended for now." He almost gritted out the last part.

Falling silent, Haruka decided not to pry. They barely knew each other after all, and it wasn't her business anyway. Who was to say they would be more than schoolmates who knew each other's names? She could foresee bumping into Nishinoya quite a few times, with how close they both lived to school. But she was determined not to be a busybody.

"That's why you're practicing with the neighborhood association?" she suggested instead, now that Nishinoya admitted to seeing her on that day.

"I was, but they're not meeting up regularly enough. In fact, I might have scared them a little," Nishinoya said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I wanted to do block follow training! Of course I had to do several drills."

Haruka grimaced. That probably meant he had practiced so much the housewives on the team were scared to repeat the ordeal ever again.

Haruka scrambled for a response. She looked ahead, the school building was still a distance away. "The track and field club isn't active until next week, so I've been running in the afternoon," she said. "N-Not that I'll stop once practice starts. I just need to figure out my schedule." She added the last part so it wouldn't seem like she was going to slack off outside of school practice.

_But I do need to see when I'll study and when I'll run_, Haruka thought, making a mental note to have a look at her lesson timetable again. Math was her weakest subject. If she scheduled her runs so that she could study on the days before her lessons...

Deep in thought, Haruka kept walking. When she finally felt the empty space around her, she turned to discover Nishinoya had stood in place. "What?"

Nishinoya looked like he had struck gold. "That's it!" he hollered, pointing at her.

Haruka started, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I join you when you run? Are you practicing this afternoon? You run around the neighborhood, right? That's perfect!"

All logic crumbled in Haruka's mind. If her brain were a machine, smoke would be coming right out through her ears. She tried to process Nishinoya's request again.

"Ehhh?"

-.-.-.-

*yojijukugo (四字熟語): A four-character Japanese idiom consisting of kanji. Basically what you see on Nishinoya's shirts, but there are many more._  
_

**A/N:** Kobayashi Haruka's name in kanji is 小林遥. Translated literally, it means "the distance in the small forest." And just as an FYI, Nishinoya's name in kanji means "the evening sun that sets in the Western valley"—it doesn't suit him at all!


	2. Chapter 2: Never No for an Answer

**A/N:** Alas, chapter two...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Haikyuu, only original characters.

**Chapter 2: Never No for an Answer**

How did this happen again?

School was alright. Haruka followed the lessons perfectly. She got acquainted with a few of her classmates, if only to keep up formalities and to make things easier for the rest of the year, but she didn't hang out or eat lunch with them. She bumped into Fukuoka in the hallway and the captain waved at her, making Haruka anticipate track practice just a bit.

It was after school that Haruka felt her nerves go haywire. In the past few days when she had come across Nishinoya, she never imagined waiting for him under a tree.

"_Do you live close by?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I'll see you at the park at 4:30!"_

"_...I haven't even said anything yet."_

Having no real reason to reject him, Haruka showed up at the appointed time. It wasn't like she wouldn't be running like she had planned, so they would bump into each other eventually if he did the same. Once the school bell rang, she'd gone home, dragging her feet every step of the way. Then she changed into her running attire and went out.

When she arrived at the park, Nishinoya was nowhere in sight. Haruka glared at her sports watch. 4:36. He was late.

"Kobayashi!" As if on cue, Nishinoya appeared from a corner and ran across the clearing, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts. Was he not cold with it being only 15 degrees outside?

"Sorry I'm late!" Nishinoya clapped his hands together, his eyes scrunched shut. "That wasn't manly of me. I left school late because I got an earful from my teacher."

Haruka wondered what being late had to do with manliness, but decided to drop it before she put her mind through the torment that was Nishinoya's reasoning. It felt too much to be out with him already outside of school hours.

_It's only because he's suspended from club activities_, she told herself. Once he was reinstated, he would resume his own training routine. Right now, Nishinoya was probably grasping at whatever opportunity he could get.

Not wanting to put off practice and stay longer than necessary, Haruka cleared her throat and said, "Should we start?"

They began with a few simple stretches. Haruka assumed Nishinoya had lived here longer than she did, so she asked him if he had a preferred route.

"I normally go uphill," Nishinoya said. "There's a path to the foot of the hill that goes up increasingly—" As if finally realizing he was not training with Tanaka or really any other guy, he quickly put his hands in front of him and added, "—but we don't have to do that if it's too tough!"

Too tough. Haruka gave Nishinoya a smile that made him cringe. What did he take her for?

"That's fine. I don't know where you mean, so lead the way, _senpai_."

"H-Ha…"

They set a moderate pace towards the West, with Nishinoya slightly in front since Haruka wasn't familiar with the directions. She could laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, her following the trail of a guy she had barely spoken to, for training no less.

Nishinoya was wearing one of his white _yojijukugo_ shirts again, this time with the words「全力疾走」printed at the back (Full Speed Ahead). If it were anyone else wearing these shirts, they would look really lame, but the shirts seemed to fit Nishinoya just fine.

The words were a bit hard to make out at first with the string bag he was carrying. Who would bring a string bag out on a run? Haruka took a closer look. With the way it jostled, there was likely a volleyball in there. _You can't be serious._

She kept silent as they went steadily uphill. It was definitely tougher than the routes she had tried before, but she didn't run long-distance for nothing.

Exhaling, Haruka kept pumping her legs. She glanced at Nishinoya. He was breaking out sweat but didn't seem tired at all. He must have pretty good stamina despite his stature. It was exasperating that she was comparatively out of breath, but she supposed Nishinoya was a guy and an athlete after all_._

After twenty minutes, they reached flatter ground and Nishinoya gestured for her to stop. Haruka slowed down and brought her jogging to an end, her feet kicking up a bit of dust as she did so. Panting, she looked around. They were now at a small clearing with trees and a bench on the side, a brief pit stop for people making their way over the hills.

"You're pretty good, Kobayashi!" Nishinoya said, wiping sweat off his face with his sleeve. The run was shorter than her usual practice, but the gradient made it more intense.

Embarrassed, Haruka looked away. "I'm in track. That's like saying, I don't know, a volleyball player having a pretty good slam or something, if that's what you call it."

"A spike?" Nishinoya looked at her with his wide brown eyes. "I don't do it though. I _know_ how to do it, but I'm a libero, so that's against the rules."

"Oh, I see."

The only time when Haruka got to try out volleyball was during gym class, so she had a rudimentary idea of how the sport was played—you couldn't let the ball hit the floor on your side of the court, and there were five, or is it six, players on each team—but she had no idea of its positions and terms.

The last time Haruka played volleyball, she ended up with two columns of burst blood vessels on her forearms. That was about as good as she could get, so it went without saying that she wasn't highly interested in the sport.

Which was why when Nishinoya started fiddling with his string bag, Haruka prayed he wasn't about to ask the impossible.

"Kobayashi, I know you're in track, but just for a bit, do you think you could—"

"No, I'm not going to 'spike' the ball for you." So he _was _going to ask her in the end.

"I'll buy you two Garigari-kun popsicles!"

"No."

"Please!" Nishinoya bowed despite being the upperclassman, startling her. "If I don't get better at block follow, then the ace, our team…" He gritted his teeth.

It was that frustration again, the expression that he made this morning. Haruka, surprised by Nishinoya's insistence, hesitated to respond. She wondered what was troubling him that made him so desperate.

"I-It's not like I know how to spike anyway, I've never played volleyball." Thinking it was still rude of her to ask further, Haruka decided to point out the infeasibility.

Normally people would give up once others have said, "It's impossible for me," because you don't want to set people up for embarrassment. But for Nishinoya, who apparently took it to mean Haruka was coming around and was merely raising the question of _how _to do it, his eyes shone once again with hope.

Haruka grimaced. Maybe she shouldn't have responded like that to a guy who wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You don't have to spike!" Nishinoya exclaimed, determined to make it work. "You just have to toss the ball—I mean, throw the ball in an arc and let it hit the... Gah!" He dug his hands into his hair, a fresh wave of despair washing over him.

"The?" Haruka tilted her head.

"...There needs to be three people," Nishinoya mumbled, sulking. "I need the ball to be reflected off a surface so that I can pick it up near the ground."

"I'm sorry, I don't get you."

For lack of better demonstration, Nishinoya tried body language. "Say this is the net," he said, swinging an arm in the air. "Sometimes when spikers hit the ball, they get stopped by the opponent's blocks." He swiped to imitate a spike, then went to the other side of the imaginary net and jumped with his hands raised: a block, Haruka reckoned.

"As libero, my job is to pick those balls back up, to give our team another chance," he explained, going back to the other side again and lowering himself to the ground to save the inexistent falling ball. It was rather amusing actually, watching Nishinoya move about like a one-man comedy skit or something.

"Um," Haruka wasn't sure if she should be saying this, "so you just need a surface for the ball to bounce off, right?" Looking around the clearing, she saw the bench, offering elevation, the nearby tree, and the empty ground next to it.

Nishinoya rose his eyebrows in surprise, then broke out into a wide grin. "You're right! That's smart, Kobayashi! And you can do it after all, thank you so much!"

_I haven't even said anything yet, _moaned Haruka inwardly. This was becoming a pattern. _Well, actually, I did. I provided a solution. Drats._

Sighing and thinking it might just be easier for her to give in, she got the volleyball from Nishinoya. Hell, she wasn't sure if she would make it back if she _didn't_ throw the ball for him. Nishinoya was as stubborn as a mule. "Just for a bit, you know."

"You got it!" He shouted, still grinning.

Haruka stood on top of the bench and threw the ball at the trunk of the tree. Her first throw was a disaster, the ball rebounding right back and almost hitting her in the face. Haruka raised her forearm to defend herself and Nishinoya ended up having to chase after the ball to retrieve it. Make that her first few throws—they all ricocheted somewhere else.

"I told you I can't do volleyball," Haruka said, her mouth curled into a frown.

Nishinoya stepped up onto the bench with her. Haruka would have shifted to the side to make more space, but the bench was only so long. With their closer proximity, she could see the perspiration glistening on his brow. "Try throwing the ball like this, it'll go _donk_." Nishinoya threw the ball and off it went with the correct trajectory.

_Donk...? _Haruka was at a complete loss. "Uh…"

"I'm not good at explaining…" Nishinoya scratched the back of his head. "It's kinda like...hitting a higher place and letting it bounce off the other side!"

Haruka thought back to the other ball sports she had played during gym class. Football, basketball... When the teacher taught them how to shoot hoops, one of the ways to shoot was to hit the upper corners of the smaller square on the backboard. "I'll give it a try," she said.

"I'm sure you can do it!"

Nishinoya hopped back down and got into position.

Looking at where he stood, Haruka took a step to the right so that she would be throwing the ball at a wider angle. Aiming higher this time, the ball hit the trunk from the right and bounced away on the left, successfully heading to where Nishinoya stood the way a blocked ball might run close to the net.

Reacting immediately, Nishinoya tipped forward and caught the ball in an underhand receive, bumping it back to Haruka. "That's it, you're awesome, Kobayashi!" he laughed, even though it was him who had saved the ball. She just threw it at a tree. With Nishinoya, you could see all his emotions on his face, Haruka mused.

They repeated the drill some more. Haruka's tossing was inaccurate, but it was all the better because it forced Nishinoya to shift his position each time, like blocks that would deflect the ball in multiple directions.

There were occasions when Nishinoya's receives weren't perfect, but Haruka could tell he had fast reflexes. As soon as the ball was up in the air, Nishinoya showed complete concentration, his eyes tracing the ball for every minute detail. He would turn completely quiet, the opposite of his usual loud self.

With time passing, sunset was imminent, casting dim orange light on the area. Knowing that she couldn't possibly stay longer than she already had, Haruka said, "These are the last few ones I'll do, I need to go back home."

Nishinoya opened his mouth like he was about to protest but promptly closed it again, aware that Haruka was doing him a favor. She didn't play ball sports, so it wasn't like she was benefiting from this. "Right, thanks!" he said.

Haruka threw her last toss. It hit the tree and Nishinoya bounced the ball back to her, but it was flying more to the right. "Ugh, Kobayashi—"

Haruka instinctively stepped to the right to follow the trajectory of the ball, but soon realized her mistake as she went over the length of the bench. Gasping, she lost her foothold. She ended up stepping on the ground on her right foot, the shock rocketing up her ankle. Her hands flung in mid-air in a poor attempt for balance and she ended up landing on her bottom, her back hitting the edge of the bench with enough force to make her wince. She heard the ball hitting the ground somewhere.

"Ow…"

"Kobayashi!" Nishinoya ran immediately to her side. "I'm sorry! Argh, that receive was off, you shouldn't have to chase after it."

Her back felt a bit sore, but she was otherwise alright. She didn't even have any scratches. "I'm fine," Haruka said. "Just surprised."

She stood up, patting her clothes to clear the dust. Still feeling the thudding pain in her back, Haruka rubbed the area to soothe it.

Nishinoya frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Haruka said. It wasn't that big of a deal. She'd had worse in the field. After assessing that Haruka could stand and move around just fine, Nishinoya relaxed.

With practice being over, they made their way home before evening came. As they were walking down the slope, Nishinoya said, "Thank you for helping me practice today, I mean it."

Haruka glanced at Nishinoya from the side and saw him in profile. With his back to the setting sun, Nishinoya had his head held high, his brown hair showing very slight hints of blond in the light. She looked away.

"Don't worry about it."

Their walk continued mostly in silence while Nishinoya appeared to be in his thoughts. They reached Haruka's junction after a while.

"I'm heading off here," she told him.

"Whoa, I'm just two streets away—you live really close!"

"Well, this area is close to school." She turned. "So, I'll—"

"Let's do this again tomorrow!" Nishinoya blurted out. Before Haruka could respond, he continued, "You don't have track practice until next week, right? So do I for volleyball. In exchange for helping me with block follow, I'll show you the different routes to run in this area!"

He pointed his thumb at his chest and grinned at the plan he had devised.

_So it will be beneficial for me as well, huh_, thought Haruka. A few more days with the hyperactive Nishinoya. If she could survive today… "Deal," she decided.

"Awesome!" Nishinoya beamed. "But," his expression turned serious, "we need a net after all. The bench was kinda dangerous today."

They decided to exchange numbers just in case. Feeling nonplussed that Nishinoya was her first contact at Karasuno, Haruka quickly pocketed her phone once she inputted his information.

"Then I'm going." She gave him a brief nod and headed home.

"See you tomorrow!" Nishinoya's loud voice boomed from behind.

Was Haruka looking forward to it? _Only for the running routes._

_-.-.-.-_

**A/N: **Read and review! Next up, angsty Noya and his Asahi-san.


	3. Chapter 3: All's Well That Ends Well

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Haikyuu, only original characters.

**Chapter 3: All's Well That Ends Well**

For the next few days, they practiced at Mrs. Inoue's. Mrs. Inoue was from the neighborhood housewife association and taught volleyball at grade school. She had a net installed in her backyard for her two boys, who were also in grade school and were just picking up the sport. Haruka recognized her; she was the one who slammed—spiked, she'd never get used to the term—the ball on the first day she saw Nishinoya.

Sunday was their last session. Volleyball practice wouldn't start until Wednesday for Nishinoya, but Haruka had track tomorrow.

"Don't tire Kobayashi-chan out, Nishinoya-kun!" Mrs. Inoue said with her arms crossed as they showed up at her front door.

"Sorry for intruding!" Nishinoya said. He had the courtesy to scratch the back of his head in slight embarrassment at Mrs. Inoue's comment.

"Sorry for intruding, and thanks for asking, Mrs. Inoue. I'm alright." Haruka took off her trainers and bowed. She saw Nishinoya relax a little at that.

After Haruka fell off the bench, Nishinoya came up with the solution of practicing at Mrs. Inoue's house, two blocks away from his own. Promising not to be of inconvenience, Nishinoya had brought his own equipment and even his own volleyball.

With more time on Sunday, Haruka and Nishinoya had gone for a run before arriving at the Inoue residence. They'd traveled through the neighborhood throughout the week—turning left of Sakanoshita until they reached the riverbank, along the foot of the hill on the other side, up a steeper incline by the shrine. Nishinoya pointed out country trails to Haruka, which they didn't have time for, but Haruka was determined to try them out afterwards.

Noticing the sweat on their brows, Mrs. Inoue ushered the pair inside and made them sit down at the dining table, she was having none of it otherwise. Haruka appreciated the sweetness of the mandarin slice she was munching on and the barley tea that was chilled, but not so cold that it was unfit for April. Opposite her, Nishinoya snacked on rice crackers, crunching through them and shifting in his seat in obvious restlessness. If not for Mrs. Inoue sitting right next to him, Nishinoya would've bounded straight for the backyard.

Keiichi and Soma, Mrs. Inoue's two sons, were bickering around the table, having finished their food and deciding to launch what was left of it at each other. Soma threw a slice of mandarin at his older brother, who caught it in mid-air with his mouth.

"Whoaa," Soma cooed. "Do that again!"

"Boys."

Mrs. Inoue was smiling but her voice dripped with warning. The brothers froze in action, looked at each other, and scampered off to other parts of the house to resume their antics in secret.

Sensing the malice in the air, Nishinoya bristled and straightened up. Were all girls, women like that?

As soon as Mrs. Inoue let them off the hook, Nishinoya shot straight to the back to set up the volleyball net. Haruka offered to help with the dishes, but Mrs. Inoue shooed her away, saying Haruka was a guest and should just relax herself. By the time Haruka went out, Nishinoya was ready, pads on and all warmed up for another round of block follow drills.

Two days ago, they actually got Mrs. Inoue to do a few serves while Haruka held a board right over the net, rebounding the ball back to the front of the court as if it were an attack blocked by the opponent team. Nishinoya got several good simulations, but then Mrs. Inoue had to go back to making dinner. Today, with just the two of them, Haruka was standing on a ladder that raised her above the net. She let Nishinoya practice different positions by dropping the ball at various angles and strengths.

"Ngh," he grunted as he rolled to reach a ball that was slightly off to the side. The ball soared through the air in a high arc and landed in the front row, right at the setter's position.

Nishinoya stood up grinning, hands on his waist and nose in the air. "That was good. Kobayashi, again!"

Nishinoya was a good player. Haruka didn't have much to compare him with, but she could tell from his quick reflexes that he was an athlete through and through—his movements were already getting smoother in just the few days they spent together. They did several more drills until Haruka's arms felt slightly numb from throwing the ball, even if she was throwing it downwards. After all she was in track for running, not for field sports like shot put or javelin. Her inaccurate throws gave Nishinoya a run for his money as he darted and rolled, picking the ball back up by sliding across the ground or diving.

By the time Nishinoya stood up for a small break, he was all dusty; it wasn't the gymnasium they were at with its squeaky wooden floors. There was even a smudge on his cheek.

Haruka's lips curled in amusement at the libero's haphazard appearance. Then she raised her eyebrows in concern.

"Nishinoya-san, you're bleeding," she said.

He wasn't aware of it until he shifted his arm. The cut on his left forearm was an irritated red, the skin pulled apart by abrasion. Sharp debris on the ground, most likely. "Oh, this happens all the time."

"Hold on." Haruka went back to the house, and after reassuring Mrs. Inoue that it was just for a minor cut and there was nothing to worry about, she came back out with a first-aid kit.

"Thanks, Kobayashi, I'll do it myself." Nishinoya sat down by the veranda and started tending to himself.

Haruka sat next to Nishinoya and watched him work. Cleaning wipes and disinfectant. The wound he just got was only one among the dapple of bruises already spread across his limbs, she realized. Some were an old brown, probably about to fade, but some were purple and fresher and looked like they were formed this week. There was a scar on his left knee that seemed to be from a nasty cut. She wondered what it was that made him train so hard.

"If I don't train, I won't get better." Nishinoya rose an eyebrow and Haruka knew she had said voiced her question out loud. She felt the tips of her ears go red.

"W-Well, everyone wants to be good at what they do," she said, her palms brushing against the smooth surface of the wood. It was cool to the touch.

Nishinoya pressed a wipe against his wound and waited for the blood to clot. "For my teammates to look ahead at a match, I have to be able to guard their backs." He frowned and stared hard at the ground. "In the last tournament, Asa—our ace was completely shut out. All of his spikes were blocked and I couldn't follow up on any of them. He got scared.

"If I could keep the ball in the air, I'm sure the match would've turned out differently. He would've been able to score. So I need to get better."

Haruka looked at the backyard, circumscribed by wooden fences. Mrs. Inoue was tending to a flower bed that didn't have anything blooming even though it was spring, just stems, maybe the plants were for another season. They only had one volleyball. Nishinoya had to retrieve it every single time, so the whole process was tiring. The net, the ladder, all for that one play.

"What is your ace like?"

"An utter wimp!" Nishinoya harrumphed. "He's big and strong, but he carries himself as if he's apologizing for existing at all. It's pathetic, dammit."

Haruka hummed in acknowledgment, elbows on her knees and hands propping up her face. "You must admire your ace quite a lot."

"Haa? He cares too much about what other people think. He's not manly at all," Nishinoya snorted indignantly and slapped the bandage in place harder than he should. "But when push comes to shove, when we're at a pinch in a match, he's the one who can slam past all three blockers. That's the ace's job after all, to score for the team no matter what," he lowered his voice to a grumble, "and he has no right to give that up."

Haruka thought of her middle-school field team captain, their quickest runner, how she lost and how she cried. "Not everyone is like you, Nishinoya-san," she said finally. Nishinoya opened his mouth like he was about to respond, and she continued, "Running isn't like volleyball, I guess—you play as a team. Everyone has their own role to play in a game. Even if it didn't come to victory, it must still be reassuring for your ace to know he's got you standing behind him."

Nishinoya stared at her and Haruka was adamant not to meet his eyes. After a bout of silence, Nishinoya stood up, muttering something about getting fired up, and flexed his arm with the wound that they both knew wouldn't stop him.

The sun was just below the fence and they had about an hour more. Haruka had no doubt they would be practicing for the whole of it and that Nishinoya would be returning to his teammates better than he was before.

-.-.-.-

"Alright, gather round!"

Apparently there were five first-years joining the girls' track and field club. Matsuoka Nao stuck with her once she knew they were from the same class, to Haruka's slight annoyance. She'd been looking forward to focused, methodical training. She couldn't remember if Nao belonged to one of the lunch groups or if she preferred to be alone—well, with the way she tried to stand by her, Haruka was rather sure she wouldn't be.

"So! K-Kobayashi-san, you're in the track club as well!" Nao said, her pigtails trailing behind her. With her bangs, she looked like she had yet to shrug off middle school. "Let's w-work hard together!" She fiddled her fingers in embarrassment.

Haruka wasn't sure what it was that made Nao so nervous. "Likewise," Haruka responded, and by the time she did, the rest of the team were already gathered in a circle for the briefing.

Fukuoka Yuka wasn't the best runner among the third-years, but she was definitely the most charismatic. "Welcome to the track and field club! We lost a week of practice because the sports ground was under maintenance, so expect us to speed things up a bit. No pun intended," she grinned and winked.

"After warming up, first-years, we're going to time you. Follow Irino and Nazuka to the starting line. We'll do 100m, 200m, and 400m. As for the rest, follow your usual regimen based on your target distance."

So they would be assigned to different distances depending on their results. Haruka was sure she would be doing long-distance, though. She wasn't that fast of a sprinter.

Haruka was slightly on edge as they were being timed, the five first-years spread across the lanes. 100m. Ready, set, go. Haruka propelled herself forward and dashed straight, making sure to lift her feet off the ground as her legs stretched for quicker strides, elbows pumping in the air for momentum. Even though she had run with Nishinoya the past week, her body still felt stiff, from the atmosphere perhaps? She was still being outrun by two other first-years—one of them being Nao, of all people. She was actually fast, her stride count making up for her small stature. Or maybe her nerves just made her run faster.

They went back to the starting line. 200m. 400m. Pushing herself off the ground for the third time, Haruka calmed herself and veered along the curving lane, keeping her pace quick but steady as her lungs pumped oxygen in and out of her in rapid succession. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, her blood circulating quicker to sustain her speed. The runners next to her started losing steam, the problem with running too fast at the beginning.

She finished first in this category at least. Haruka checked her records.

66 seconds. Tch. There were no geniuses among the first-years, only fair performers.

Karasuno wasn't particularly known for its track and field club, but they were—like the new recruits—fair. The third-years seemed more sure of themselves. Drinking from a water bottle, Haruka watched them go around the lap, their strides long and graceful. No match for Shiratorizawa, though.

Crinkling her brows, Haruka wondered when she had grown a competitive streak. She would run to improve her time, yes, but not against anyone in particular, no less the Miyagi Track Meet. It must be Nishinoya rubbing off on her. Haruka thought back to when he stood up, bruised limbs and all 5'3" of him, perfecting something he was already good at.

Hearing her captain call, Haruka put down her water bottle and went for the next set of drills. High knees.

-.-.-.-

Wednesday. Haruka hadn't bumped into Nishinoya this week and they hadn't texted since their practice on Sunday. Some peace and quiet at last. In hindsight, last week was an experience, spending so much time with one guy. If her brother knew, he would go ballistic, Haruka thought with a wry smile.

Nao _was_ in one of the lunch groups in the classroom, with three other chirpy girls who didn't value her presence much but didn't mind it either. Haruka almost scoffed when she saw her tug one of her pigtails in nervousness while the rest of the girls laughed about some boy idol who held a concert last week, in Miyagi surprisingly, and two of them went, lucky them.

Haruka was content with being on her own, going to the library and the courtyard once she finished her lunch. She even tried the rooftop once. Apparently Karasuno was one of those schools which actually cared about security, so the door was locked.

At practice, Haruka was so far inside her head that the sounds of her teammates running receded into the background. It was endurance training for the first-years today, something right up her street. Haruka breathed methodically, eyes looking straight ahead and legs moving on their own accord. Left, right, left, right. It was that simple.

Nao may be fast, but she had poor endurance. Having completed the course, Haruka watched her from the sidelines, still running. She was behind by a lap.

"Kobayashi, you're pretty good at long-distance," Fukuoka said, snapping Haruka out of her thoughts.

Oh right, they had all passed the finish line. It was time for the next part of training.

"If our school had a cross-country team, you might be good for it," Fukuoka pondered aloud, leaning against the fences by the lanes.

"I'm thinking of practicing with the country routes," Haruka said.

"We'll do that on Golden Week. Well, see if you can improve your time whilst you're at it—Akane, run it like you mean it!" Fukuoka stood back up. "Could you help refill the water bottles actually? We don't have a manager, so we take turns. Promise."

Nodding mutely in response, Haruka collected the water bottles from the bench and went looking for a water fountain. Exiting the sports ground, she found one near the courtyard by the gym. She unscrewed the bottles and filled them one by one, taking care not to mix them up.

Haruka appreciated the menial task which took her to a quiet part of the campus now that students had either gone home or were in club activities. Fukuoka mentioned Golden Week, would they be training then? There were several mountain routes near the school as she had come to know, perhaps they would—

A loud impact made Haruka jump and she almost spilled the bottle she was holding. "Dammit!" she heard someone yell. Haruka went around the corner of the gym toward the sound and stopped once she saw who it was. It was indeed Nishinoya, clutching his gakuran jacket in one hand. The loud rattling had been his other hand slamming against an unfortunate locker.

Hearing her approach, Nishinoya turned, visibly bristling, but made an obvious effort to restrain himself once he recognized her. "Kobayashi," he frowned.

Should she ask him if something was wrong? No, that would be dumb, because something obviously was. It probably had to do with his team, she didn't know what else could rile him up like this.

Not trusting herself to ask questions, Haruka settled on a greeting. "N-Nishinoya-san," she said. Yikes. Too meek. He eyed her bag of water bottles and she explained, "Track practice."

Nishinoya flung his jacket over his shoulders and put it back on, buttoning it to the collar. He shoved his hands inside his pockets.

Maybe this was her cue to leave.

"Uh, I'll—"

Like a deflated balloon, Nishinoya exhaled and sank to the ground, sitting with his back against the lockers. "What a wuss," he hissed, his anger still simmering.

Or not.

Cautiously, Haruka ventured closer as if Nishinoya was a caged animal. Putting her bag down, she knelt beside him.

"You've started practice?" A rhetorical question. That could work.

"Asahi-san hasn't come back," Nishinoya grunted, his voice deep and irritated.

All that training this past month, and the ace wasn't even there to spike the ball. Nishinoya probably felt let down and betrayed, Haruka thought, and wouldn't she know how that felt. He had been working this past month with the expectation that he could fix everything.

"But you can't," Haruka whispered to no one in particular, to the empty space of the corridor, sheltered from the rain by the slanting tin roof. It was all open space otherwise. A few steps out and they would be back in the courtyard.

Nishinoya gave her an uncomprehending look. "I mean," Haruka considered what she should say, "do you think Asahi-san likes volleyball still?"

"He's got no reason to dislike it," Nishinoya retorted defensively.

"Maybe… Maybe he feels responsible? That you guys lost," Haruka suggested. When Nishinoya looked like he was about to argue, she raised her hands and clarified, "I'm not saying he should! But as the ace, he would carry a lot on his shoulders, probably."

Nishinoya leaned back and his head thudded against the hard metal of the lockers. "Idiot, he's playing with a team. I'm supposed to put the ball back up for him."

"And," Haruka braved to say, "you also put a lot on yourself as well, with defense. The feeling of not being as good as you hoped to be and wanting to improve, or wanting to back down… Everyone is different.

"But I think it's not easy to just give up on something, if you like it." Haruka averted her eyes. "If Asahi-san hasn't showed up yet, maybe it's because he needs more time?"

"I'm not going back to the team if Asahi-san's not there," Nishinoya mumbled.

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Haruka said. Well, what could she say after that ultimatum. The guy was stubborn.

Nishinoya stayed silent. He doesn't understand retreat. He doesn't understand rumination—just not how his brain works—and how Asahi can disappear, just like that. But he knows what it is like to be afraid, from way back. It freezes you up from within, freezes your limbs, until all you can do is look. He wondered if Asahi had been living with this sense of dread for the past month. Unlike him, Asahi was a master at going around in circles in his head.

"Nishiya-san!" A closing voice got their attention. A small boy with a tufty mop of ginger hair bounded over from the gym, clad in volleyball gear. Haruka figured he was one of Nishinoya's teammates. He looked like a first-year.

"It's _Nishinoya_," Nishinoya corrected gruffly, standing back up and shoving his hands back into his pockets again. Haruka lifted herself off the ground as well.

The first-year volleyball player noticed her and hastily took a few steps back. Haruka raised an eyebrow in question. "Liberos are amazing…" Hinata mumbled with awe. Yup. Definitely a first-year. "Are you Nishinoya-san's girlfriend?"

Haruka almost choked herself. "Ha? I'm a first-year. Kobayashi Haruka from Class 1-5."

The boy paled. "I-I-I'm sorry! I'm Hinata Shouyo from Class 1-1. Um…"

Nishinoya only looked disgruntled if anything, too grumpy to feel flustered. "Why do you think I'm a libero? Because I'm short?"

Hinata looked even more panic-stricken. "B-Because you're a great receiver. Libero is a position for players good at defense, right?"

Nishinoya blinked, then gave a vaguely smug smirk. The first-year knew how to stroke someone's ego.

"You sure know your stuff."

"Plus, the captain calls you Karasuno's guardian deity!"

Bam! Hinata's attack was super effective. Nishinoya immediately stiffened. His face turned red and his ego blew through the roof.

Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Wha—he's exaggerating! I'm not—Daichi-san—d-dammit, I won't bend so easily even if he calls me by a really cool nickname…!" Nishinoya turned around, abashed and hand on the back of his head, then sneaked a look at Hinata.

"He really said that?"

Hinata nodded enthusiastically. "I'm not good at receiving, so please teach me, Nishinoya-sa—Nishinoya-senpai!"

Haruka could feel the honorific reverberate in Nishinoya's head. Yup, Nishinoya was officially knocked out. She was never calling him senpai ever again.

With Nishinoya acting like a flailing idiot, Haruka was sure he would be fine. Casting one last look at the idiotic pair, she picked up her bag of bottles and slipped away. Even from a distance, she could hear Nishinoya stammer something about popsicles after practice and training his kouhai. She had dallied long enough and should really get back to the field.

"Where's Kobayashi?" Nishinoya asked after the impact of Hinata's flattery died down.

"I think she went out with her bag," Hinata said, wide-eyed. "She's from the track and field club, right? I saw her jersey! It's dark blue—that's pretty cool!"

Nishinoya looked at the empty courtyard. In his anger he hadn't even noticed Kobayashi's blue jersey. He shifted focus back to his promise to teach Hinata. Only that. It wouldn't mean he was joining the team again…not without Asahi.

-.-.-.-

The day after, Haruka was studying in her room after dinner. She was going through algebra questions and flipping through the pages of her textbook when her phone vibrated with a new message.

Wondering who it was, Haruka flipped her phone open.

**noya: **_Asahi-san came back_

Apparently all the ace needed was 24 hours more. Haruka smiled a bit.

**Haruka**: _That's good. So you're back with the team?_

Nishinoya's reply came instantly.

**noya**: _U bet! Next up, training camp match!_

**Haruka**: _Right._

And another.

**noya**: _kobayashi you text so properly _

**Haruka**: _Ha? That's how I always text. _

Merry Nishinoya sure felt like a texter and she had homework to finish. Deciding to leave the conversation at that, Haruka put her phone aside, ignoring the flash that indicated a new notification.

A training camp? That would probably fall on Golden Week as well, same as the track and field club. Haruka wondered if the group dynamics at her club were as intimate as the volleyball club's. Probably not—it wasn't like they were in matches together or anything.

Her phone flashed again. After homework, she thought. Then she would check what mindless comments Nishinoya had about her texting habit of all things.

_-.-.-.-_

**A/N: **I hope this is enjoyable! I write when I'm on the road so sometimes the sections feel like bits and pieces. It feels necessary to give some context for the track club (and let's face it we're all here for Noya) but I wonder if that section isn't as interesting for some.

Huge thanks to everyone who followed and marked the story as a favorite! Looks like the training camp is next, or will it. Let's get inside Haruka's head a bit more...


	4. Chapter 4: What I'd Wished to Forget

**A/N**: I hope everyone is safe and well in these times of Covid-19. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Haikyuu, only original characters.

**Chapter 4: What I'd Wished to Forget  
**

Tail swishing, Nemo gnawed at the pellets of food that Haruka had poured into his dish. Was he two, three years old now? Haruka had taken him in when her aunt's cat birthed a litter. When they first moved into this house, Nemo hid himself under the couch for a week straight. Now, he had no qualms jumping onto furniture, napping on Haruka's bed, and leaving ginger cat hair everywhere.

Opening the sliding door to let fresh air in, Haruka sat down and looked out at her family's rather miserable backyard. They'd yet to succeed in growing anything. It reminded Haruka of Mrs. Inoue's backyard and the flower bed that wasn't blooming at all. In Haruka's previous house, her mother had bought potted herbs once for the kitchen, thinking it might be easier to control temperature indoors, but the herbs died quickly and Nemo started biting the wilted branches off, so they threw the whole lot away.

Scratching the back of Nemo's ears absentmindedly, Haruka observed the dwindling daylight.

She hadn't spoken or texted with Nishinoya since his ace returned to the team, and considering how much Nishinoya cared about the volleyball club, it was hard not to think of their week together as a one-off arrangement made possible by special circumstances. Not that she was aiming to have it last or anything. In retrospect, had she not heard the libero speak about what was happening and what he hoped to achieve, she would've thought he was hitting on her with how frequently they met.

Shocked at the thought, Haruka shook her head to dispel the heat creeping up her cheeks. It was all that first-year's fault—Hinata, was it, blurting out something preposterous.

Pulling absently at the ends of her hair, Haruka thought back to Nishinoya's temper, how furious he had been, fists clenched and lips pulled back into a snarl. She didn't really know how to deal with him in that state. Why get so heated up by a club of all things?

Nemo yawned and arched his back, finished with his food. His collar bell tinkled with the movement. Slipping out of Haruka's grasp, he padded across the living room to curl up in the comfort of his bed. Stretching out a paw, he lay sideways in what must be a bout of food coma.

_I wonder what that feels like for cats._ _Come to think of it, it's almost Nemo's birthday. _Bemused, Haruka let the cat sleep and went back to her room.

-.-.-.-

Later that night, Haruka dreamed.

It was summer again and the heat was suffocating. She shifted uncomfortably beneath her clothes that stuck to her skin in the humid air.

There were so many people on the street and they got on perfectly fine. The two of them had stopped on the way. She could feel the familiar pounding of her heart in her ears, her breath quickening to match the rhythm. Perspiration trickled from her temple to the side of her jaw. She wiped her hands on her T-shirt, but they only got clammier.

_What, you don't want to do it?_ His voice was flat and nonchalant. Haruka could hear the barely veiled disappointment, how it was said to judge and disparage her.

Haruka bit her lip. "I don't want to." He cupped her cheek, it made her flinch. He was taller than her, stronger, faster, older.

_You should at least be curious_, he said again. He relaxed his hand. It slid down her neck to her collarbone and stayed there. Haruka felt her insides freeze and thought her skin must break from the temperature difference with the sweltering atmosphere.

And just as effortlessly, he ceased contact. He smiled. His black hair fell into his eyes which were hard as flint. He stepped away. _Haruka, you're no fun._

Weak in her knees, Haruka tried desperately to grasp his receding form. She broke into a run, but the gap was unbreachable. In the space between her outstretched hand and his retreating back, the cicadas beat their wings, louder and louder until she wheezed and spluttered with the onset of loss.

He was the one who made her this way, he was the only one who could fix this—

Haruka woke to the darkness of her room. That again. She set her gaze at the ceiling and blinked back the wetness in her eyes.

_It's spring. I'm alone in my room. I'm warm, beneath my covers. _Nishinoya flashed across her mind, he and his obnoxious messenger bag and slogan T-shirts. The view of his back when he stood up in Mrs. Inoue's backyard, bandage freshly applied on his left arm, eager and confident to prove his worth.

At that moment, he gave the feeling that he was impenetrable, someone who could pull down walls, and nothing in the world could get between him and what he set out to do. Not like her. She'd rather put up walls than tear them down. It was like she couldn't bear to see what was on the other side, if it disappointed her and was beyond her expectations. And didn't she know what that felt like.

Haruka looked over to the digital clock on her nightstand. 2:47. Clutching her blanket tighter, Haruka wrapped herself in a cocoon. She didn't fall asleep until a long while later.

-.-.-.-

"Kobayashi-san!"

"What?" Haruka asked, her voice sharper than was polite. Nao smiled nervously and handed her a form.

"I-I bumped into Fukuoka-senpai in the hallway. She was distributing the notice for our Golden Week training camp."

Feeling guilty, Haruka held the document and mumbled her thanks. It was two nights ago, but the dream, or the gloom that it brought, was still affecting her and getting in the way of her sleep.

"Are...Are you looking forward to it?" Haruka asked Nao, to make up for her rudeness. Haruka knew her classmate had been trying to get to know her more, and this question was her attempt at conversation. She wondered if it was manipulative of her for impressing on Nao this way.

Brightening, Nao replied, "Yes! I've never had an overnight camp at junior school before. It sure sounds fun. I wonder what it'll be like!"

Thinking back to training camps with her middle school track team, Haruka remembered the experience of having to share baths and trying to sleep amidst unceremonious snoring. Not wanting to voice disagreement, she could only nod vaguely.

Once Nao left for lunch with Rika and the others, Haruka put away her books and breathed a small sigh of relief. Skimming through the arrangements of the training camp, it seemed like other sports clubs were also staying on campus for different activities. Girls' basketball, scouts, track and field, boys' volleyball.

_Come to think of it, he did mention a match over Golden Week_. Deciding not to delve into it too much, Haruka went for her usual lunch spot—the rooftop being unavailable, she'd taken a liking to eating in the courtyard—and couldn't wait to jog once school was over to blow off steam.

-.-.-.-

"Ugh… I'm gonna die."

Haruka put her hands on her knees and gasped for air after her third dash up Karasuno's Heartbreak Hill, or so it was called by all the athletes who had to train with it. In reality it was a road veering up a steep incline very rarely frequented by vehicles. Her teammates were in similar states of breathlessness, clutching their sides and wiping sweat off their foreheads.

"Alright team! I know it's hard. One more round and we're off for lunch," Fukuoka said, smiling and folding her arms while collective groans came from the rest of the team. "We're sharing the cafeteria with a few other groups. If you'd appreciate a full lunch selection, I'd suggest making our way back on time."

When they did get to the school cafeteria, several other clubs were already seated with their food. Carrying her tray of beef udon and miso soup, Haruka swept her eyes across the room. She didn't know what she was looking for, really. Scoffing to herself, Haruka made her way to her team's table and sat down with the first-years.

Toda Akane, already looking tired, was poking at her bowl of rice with her chopsticks. Kita Ichika and Takahashi Mirai seemed more enthusiastic about the latest album release than food while Nao, obviously having never heard it, fidgeted with being on the edge of the conversation. _Just what is it with this girl and trying to fit in?_

Despite the rather old interior, Karasuno's cafeteria had pretty good catering by school standards. Slurping her udon quietly, Haruka appreciated the meal after the morning training session. The girls were due to use the sports ground in the afternoon; the boys' track and field club had already trained there in the morning and they were going to switch.

"Say, Kobayashi, which middle school did you come from?" Mirai said, her head on her hand. She'd been hovering her chopsticks in her other hand for some time, clearly not interested in her food.

"S-Shiratorizawa."

"No way! Why are you here at Karasuno? Students from their junior academy get promoted to their high school division, right? And you totally have that smart student vibe."

Nao blinked curiously at her. Haruka withheld a grimace. She'd dreaded people asking her. The reaction was as expected, with Shiratorizawa being one of the best schools in Miyagi, but the last thing she wanted was to be labeled as a misplaced elite student or something. "My grades are mediocre there," she said. "My family used to live in Wakano, but we moved here recently and Karasuno's closer."

"What a waste! I would've jumped at the chance." Mirai wasn't one to mince her words, Haruka realized. She shrugged and Mirai, not caring that much in the end, moved on. "So, Matsuoka, which school are you from?"

"I-I'm from Nagamushi Junior High," Nao said, jumping slightly at the sudden attention. She started reaching for her hair before putting her hand back on the table. "Most of the people in my year went to other high schools in the area, though."

"Well, me and Ichika are from Chidoriyama. Akane said she was from another prefecture. Yamagata?" Receiving a nod from the girl, Mirai grinned and slung an arm around Ichika, who raised an eyebrow. "Nice to meet everyone, I guess. Kobayashi, you're going to have to prove to us you're not some kind of goody-two-shoes or closet genius."

"Right," Haruka managed. Mirai's personality reminded her of someone... Anyway. She was about to dig into her lunch again when she heard loud bickering coming from all the way across the room.

"Hinata, you suck. Can't you even do a half-decent serve?"

"Shut it, Bakayama!"

With most of the other clubs already seated, the volleyball club had to split themselves among several tables at the center of the cafeteria. Haruka spotted Nishinoya. He and his buzz cut friend and the bickering first-years wasted no time dashing to the food queue. A third-year, who Haruka surmised was the captain, yelled after them about their manners. ..._What a handful. I feel sorry for him. _

"He's kinda hot, don't you think? The first-year, the taller one," Ichika said, sitting up straighter. "Our volleyball club looks a bit intimidating in black, though..."

It was true. Karasuno had black gakuen jackets for guys and blue blazers for girls, but it had laxer rules for how these colors were incorporated into athletic team uniforms. Many teams had opted to use combinations of black, blue, grey, and white to look more stylish. For the track and field club, they had blue jerseys and black shorts with blue stripes on the sides. The volleyball club tracksuit, however, was just black, like crows.

"Kageyama? He's in my class." Akane lifted her head and spoke softly. "He's an idiot."

"I-is that so…"

"Ah! That's my senpai," Mirai said, pointing her chopsticks at Nishinoya. "The short guy with the bleached hair."

"He's also from Chidoriyama?" Haruka found herself asking. She couldn't help but look at Mirai's chopsticks. _Is _everyone _from Chidoriyama this forthright?_

"Yeah, he won an award for volleyball or something."

Haruka wouldn't say she was surprised. She had yet to see Nishinoya in a match, but he had great athletic sense and reflexes when it came to volleyball.

Now she knew about him, Haruka wondered if Nishinoya would ever find out about her middle school. _Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there—if we even talk about it at all._

-.-.-.-

Nothing beats a nice, warm shower after a full day's worth of training. Plopping onto her futon, Haruka gave a small, contented sigh. Her hair was still damp. The first-years had just returned from the showers to the dormitory room where the girls' track and field club would sleep.

Their upperclassmen were already in groups, enjoying the hour or so of free time before curfew. Nao was still in the bathroom, she supposed, and Akane looked like she wouldn't mind sleeping right this instant. Mirai and Ichika already had their earphones out, no doubt for the album they'd talked about at lunch.

Haruka found herself a bit thirsty. Deciding to go grab something, she stood up again. She glanced at her teammates and decided to ask.

"I'm going to get a drink. Takahashi-san, Kita-san, do you want anything?"

"Nope, I'm good, thanks," Mirai turned and said. "And drop the suffix, you know? I called you Kobayashi."

Smiling slightly, Haruka stepped out of the room.

Walking along the corridor, Haruka thought where she'd seen those vending machines. There should be several at the main entrance, which was on the other side of the building. Traveling down the stairs, she headed to what she'd figured was the right direction.

As she turned a corner, she saw a figure clad in white. Haruka stared for a few seconds before realizing she was supposed to recognize this person.

"...Nishinoya-san?"

Taking notice of her, Nishinoya looked up, his hair falling soft over his forehead. A towel hung around his neck.

_Wha—_ "Your hair… It's you, right?"

"'Course it is!" Nishinoya huffed.

_Did someone make fun of him? _Nishinoya's blond and brown strands were tousled and slightly damp. Haruka caught herself staring and averted her eyes, her face flushed. She would never admit how she thought he looked now.

The libero gave a questioning frown. "Kobayashi, why are you even here? This is the boys' wing."

After saying it, even Nishinoya widened his eyes in awkwardness, but not as much as Haruka, who would rather the floor swallow her whole. How could she not know where she was heading?

"I-I-It wasn't on purpose! I was trying to find a vending machine," Haruka retorted, holding up her wallet in defense. "I wanted to get something to drink."

"Oh." Nishinoya blinked. He snapped out of it soon enough, though. "There's one near the entrance! I'll take you there."

"It's okay, if you could tell me how—"

Nishinoya was already ahead of her to the entrance by the time she tried to politely decline. Shoulders sinking in defeat, Haruka followed him. He seemed to have already gotten over whatever embarrassment they'd had bumping into each other. At least they were heading to a common area now. Team curfew was at ten, and she'd really just want to buy her drink quickly.

There were indeed vending machines in the lobby next to the main entrance. Looking at the selection, Haruka debilitated between a juice and a yogurt drink. "Nishinoya-san, would you like anything?"

"I'm good. I won't have you pay for it anyway. It's not—"

"—not manly, right?" Haruka sighed. Then she looked at him and closed her mouth. "Sorry, um, I don't mean to cut you off… But I heard it a lot during practice, you know?"

Nishinoya grinned. "It's what I live by."

_Boys_. Suppressing another sigh, Haruka pressed a button and retrieved her carton through the flap at the bottom of the vending machine. She poked her straw through and sipped. Sweet, tangy apple juice.

There were footsteps coming down the stairs on the side. Turning, Nishinoya waved and said, "Chikara! Lend me 150 yen!"

"And why would I do that?"

Haruka watched the other upperclassman lean on the banister, looking over them. From the interaction, he was probably Nishinoya's teammate. The teammate saw her and she bowed a little, her nerves on edge again with whatever he might be thinking of her and Nishinoya, here together at this time of night. _It's probably just me, it's not that big of a deal._

"Aw man, don't be so stingy. I'll treat you the next time we go to Sakanoshita," Nishinoya promised, thumping his hand on his chest.

"Yeah, yeah… Don't come back too late, or Daichi-san will get mad," the teammate—who Nishinoya had called by first name, Haruka noted—said, throwing his wallet toward the libero.

"Thanks! I owe you one!"

Nishinoya wasted no time getting himself some grape juice. "So, Kobayashi, how's practice?"

"It's fine," Haruka said, trying to look away still. She hated how frazzled she was being and shook her head to snap out of it, earning another look from the libero. "We did a few drills at Karasuno's Heartbreak Hill. Have you done that before?"

"Sure I have! Man, that thing is steep. We might go running there over the next few days, actually," Nishinoya exclaimed. "Also, we're going to have a practice match near the end of the week."

"Which Miyagi high school is that?"

"No, with Nekoma, from Tokyo." Nishinoya looked nothing but ready for the challenge. "I can't wait!"

Haruka blinked. She'd heard of Nekoma. "That's surprising, for them to come all this way."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Nishinoya slurped the last of his juice and crushed the carton in his hand. "We'll show them what Karasuno is made of. Our power ace! Weird first-year duo! Kiyoko-san! They won't know what hit 'em." He threw his head back and laughed.

_Weird first-year duo? Kiyoko-san? _"Hinata, you mean? Is Kiyoko-san—"

"Our manager!" Haruka swore she saw stars in Nishinoya's eyes. "She's, she's…" A blush—a _blush_—spread over his cheeks. Then he said, with utter seriousness: "When Kiyoko-san smiles, the world becomes peaceful."

"What?" Haruka laughed. She cocked her head. "You like her, or something?"

Nishinoya got so flustered he almost dropped his carton. "Gah! You—I—Something like this—Ryuu also—"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just making fun of you."

Haruka still had half of her drink left, but decided to walk back with it. She felt she should, anyway. Giving Nishinoya a half-smile, she stepped back and said, "Well, I'm going back to my team. Good luck for the practice match, and thanks for showing me the way."

"H-huh." Nishinoya stopped his stammering and straightened up. "You're so polite all of a sudden."

"I'm always like that."

With that, Haruka turned and started heading back to the girls' wing.

"_Oyasumi_, Kobayashi!"

With how loud he typically was, Nishinoya figured Haruka would've heard, but she'd gone around the corner by then.

-.-.-.-

"_Oyasumi_, he said."

"Chikara! You were there!"

"I'm just curious by the fact that you even spoke to a girl, Nishinoya."

"Haa?" Nishinoya's voice was muffled as he threw himself onto the futon. Turning his head, he said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tanaka's ears perked. "Noya-san spoke with a girl? Is she cute?"

Ennoshita smiled at the libero, who glared back. "Who was that, anyway?"

"Kobayashi, she's a first-year. Kind of like my neighbor. She lives really close, so."

"Ah, to see the day when you graduate from Kiyoko-san—"

"What? We'll follow Kiyoko-san wherever she goes!" Nishinoya and Tanaka jumped up immediately to defend their adoration for the manager. Grinning, they bumped fists in camaraderie of their two-people fanclub.

Actually, the duo was sure the third-years also had a thing for Kiyoko; they were just too lame to show it.

Tanaka continued, "Even if Kiyoko-san said she'd steal all my belongings, I'd still—"

"Right, I think we've all heard that before," Sugawara interrupted, walking into the room with Asahi trailing behind, who was pulling at one of his tangly strands that had, apparently, scared everyone. "Go to sleep, all of you, before Daichi makes you."

With the excitement over, Nishinoya slipped into his futon and stared at the ceiling. Soon the room was completely dark, with sounds of Tanaka's familiar snoring next to him. The last thing Nishinoya remembered before falling asleep was the vague motion of brown hair swaying on the back of a receding form.

**-.-.-.-**

**A/N**: *_Oyasumi_ means "good night". Oh Nishinoya :)


End file.
